Car-door-locking means



July 19.1927. 1,635,983

A-. cA MPBE1- L ET AL CAR noon LOCKING mews Original Filed Aug. 2 19211 INVENTORS AQZYLE CAMPBELL- .LBERT E Z/MMER TH ATTORN Patented July 19, 1927.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

(ABG -YLL CAMPBELL AND ALBERT E. ZIMMEE, OF, CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNORS ".I.O

ENTERPRISE RAILWAY EQUIPMENT COMPANY, "OF CHICAGQ ILLINOIS, A COB- .POBATION or ILLINOIS.

CAR-DOOR-LOCKINCEMEANS.

"Original application filed August 26, 1921, Serial No 495,665. Divided and this application filed June 26, 1925, Serial No. 39,632. Renewed June 2,1927.

This invention relates to improvements in car door operating mechanisms. 'Our invention is a divisional application of our pending application Serial No. 495,665, filed August 26th, 1921.

One Object of the invention is to provide a door lock or latch arrangement for a railway car which is 'of simple form, relatively 1 inexpensive to make, apply and maintain, and which will always insure the doors being fully closed when locked to thereby {prevent leakage-0f the contents of the car While in transit.

Another object of the invention is to provide a door locking mechanism which el1minates the use of chains or equivalent flexihle connect-ions, and which is so arranged that, as the doors are brought to closed position, the mechanism'will automatically lock or latch the doors in their final closed position.

Another object of the invention is to provide a mechanism of the character indicated in the preceding paragraph wherein is employed a looking or latching element which may be positively disengaged to release the doors, and whereby the release of such mechanism will be accomplished with safety to the operator. I

Other objects of the invention will more cleanly appear from the desdription and claims hereinafterfollowing.

In the drawings forming a part ofthis specification, Figure 1 is a side elevational View of a portion of a hopper car, showing our invention in connection therewith, the parts being in the condition. assumed when the doors are in closed and locked position. And Figure 2 is a vertical sectional view 40 of the structure shown in Figure 1, and corresponding to the section line 2'2 thereof.

In the arrangement shown, the invention is shown as applied to a car having a hopper extending transversely of the car, and

adapted to be closed by two doors 522 522, which have their free edges meeting in a tran versely extending line of contact, as clearly shown in Figure 1. Each door is 'bra'ced on the underside thereof 'near its *freeedge with a channel brace 524. Se-

cured adjacent each end of each channel brace 524 are suitable bearing brackets 036, in which is 'o'scillatab'ly mounted a trans- 81 by which the casting versely extending shaft D Secured to each end of the shaft is a shouldered latching element proper A adapted when the door is in closed position, to extend above the plane of the door, said latch being formed with a cam edge 529 as shown. Secured to the hopper side sheets 520 are laterally extended fixed lugs or co-operating latching elements B one for each latching element A, and over whichathe shoulders of the latter are adapted to hook and lock, as Wlll be apparent from an inspection of Figure 1. The latchingelements A extend upwardly, and in order to insure that the cam edge 529 thereof will always travel in the path of the fixed elements B as the doors move to closed position, coiled springs '80 are applied to the shaft D so as to always tend to throw the latching elements A in a direction towards the free edges of the respectivedoors. Preferably, the fixed lugs or latching elements B on each side of the car-"are formed integrally with a web the hopper I sheet.

(lo-operable with each of the latching elements A at one side of the car only, are pivoted camming or looking elements C", the same being pivotally mounted on suitable brackets 82 riveted to the side hopper sheet. Each of the looking or camming elements C is formed with a depending body portion 84 in the form of a web or plate adapted to overlie the latching element A, when the door is in closed position. Outstanding from said web or plate is a lateral flange 86, which is I slightly curved and adapted to assume a position in the path of a lateral extension 87 formed integrally with the corresponding latch element A", said extension being provided with an inner engaging member 89 adapted to co-operate with the laterally extending projection 88 arranged on the inner edge of each of the camming elements C The members 88 and 89 are separated from each'other when the said elements A and C are in locked relation in order to permit the member C to rotate sufficiently to be fully disengaged from the member A before the projection 88 moves into engagement with the projection 89, and displacement of member A relatively to member B is'initiated.

may be riveted to Assuming the parts to be positioned as shown in Figure 1, the method of operation is as follows: when the operator first releases the left hand door, for instance, he stands to one side of the door and engages the squared ortion 83 of the member C with a suitab e operating tool, rotating the same in a clockwise direction, during which movement the flange 86 will graduallyfi'avel out of the path of the projection 87, and the projection 88 will then engage the projection 89 on the member A when continued rotation of said member G in the indicated direction will displace the members A on the respective ends of the door from engagement with their corresponding bracket member B the latches at the opposite ends of the transversely aligned doors being adapted to be operated simultaneousl through their connection by means of the s aft D as will be understood. I

It will be understood that the operation or the right-hand door is the same as above described, except that the member 0 is rotated in a counter-clockwise direction.

The doors are preferably adapted to be manually brought into closed position, the parts being so arranged that the coil springs 80 will urge the latch members A towards the free edge of the door, and the parts maintained in such position so that as the door is brought to final closed position the resiliency of the spring 80 will cause each of said latch members of the door to auto matically seat on its corresponding member 13 The related member 0* is then swungl into locking engagement with its associate latch member.

While we have herein shown and described what we now consider the preferred manner of carrying out our invention, the same is merely illustrative and we contemplate all changes and modifications that come within the scope of the claims appended hereto.

lVhat we claim is:

1. In a car having a door opening defined by fixed hopper sheets, and a pivotally mounted hopper door, the door extending transversely of the car and oscillatable about a transversely fixed axis, the combination with laterally extended fixed projections on each side of the ear adjacent the corresponding free edge of the door when the latter is in closed position; of latching elements duplicated at opposite sides of the car, pivotally mounted on the door and co-operable with said fixed projections to lock the door in closed position; and common operating means for locking said elements in operative position and also for disengaging them from said projections.

2. In a dump car the combination with a hopper having an opening, of a door adapted to close said opening, a shouldered bracket carried by one of said parts, a pivoted looking element carried by the other of said parts, said locking element being adapted to have co-opcrating engagement with the shouldered element to lock, the door in closed position, said locking element having a laterally extending projection; a rotatably mounted member adjacent the shouldered bracket having a body portion lying adjacent to the pivoted element and a lateral extension formed on the said body and extending in the path of the lateral extension on the locking element; and means for inducing a movement of rotation to said rotatable member for the purpose of displacing the locking element from its engagement with the shouldered bracket.

3. In a dump car, the combination with a dump door; oi a bracket carried by the car structure above the door; a shouldered element pivotally mounted on the door, said shouldered element being adapted to have co-operating engagement with the said bracket; and resilient means for urging the latch element into cooperating engagement with the said bracket.

4. In a dump car, the combination with a dumping door structure; of locking elements carried by the car, said element-s being disposed at the respective ends of the door; cooperating means carried at the respective ends of the door structure adjacent said lockmg elements, said means being adapted to be operated in unison to engage with the corresponding locking elements; and means adjacent one side of the door movably mounted independently of said cooperating means for locking said co-operating means in supporting relation, and also for disengaging the members from each other. 7

5. In a dump car, the combination with a fixed part of the car and a dumping door structure; of shouldered elements carried by the fixed part of the car adjacent the sides of the door; movable means carried by the door, said means including a plurality of latching elements on the door adapted to cooperate with the shouldered elements on the fixed part of the car to lock the door in position, said respective latchingelements be ing adapted to have movement in unison; and means for disengaging said latching elements in unison from engagement with their respective brackets, said means including a member having movement independently of the latch elements and movably mounted on the car structure. 1

6. In a dump car, the combination with a dumping door part and a fixed part of the car; of a door supporting hook carried by one of said parts, said hook having a plurality. of laterally extending projections; and means movably mounted adjacent the said hook adapted to act on one of said projections to move the hook in one direction and being adapted to act on the other of said projections to move the hook in the opposite direction.

7. In a dump car, the combination with a fixed portion of the car and a dump door portion; of bracket members carried by one of said portions; latch elements carriedby the other of said portions and adapted to cooperate with the bracket members to lock the door in closed position, said latch elements being respectively disposed at the respective ends of the door and united by a rotatable shaft to function in unison; and a coiled spring member adapted to resiliently control the rotation of said shaft.

8. In a dump car, the combination with a hopper openin of a plurality of doors adapted to close said opening, said doors meeting at their free edges and sloping downwardly towards each other; brackets carried by the car above said doors, adjacent each side edge thereof, each of said brackets having laterally extending projections; shouldered latch elements carried by the doors, each of said shouldered latch elements when the corresponding door is in closed posit-ion, being adapted to have the shoulder thereof seat on a projection of its corresponding bracket; and resilient means adapted to urge each of said latch members into engagement with its corresponding bracket.

In witness that we claim the foregoing We have hereunto subscribed our names this 18th day of June, 1925.

ARGYLE CAMPBELL. ALBERT E. ZIMMER. 

